>> this is bbc world news america. reporting from washington, i'm laura trevelyan. a cease-fire between israel and hamas, bringing an end to eight days of fighting. the will it last? >> the people of this region deserve to live fear -- fogh -- to live free from fear and violence. this is a step in the right direction. >> and his sound has made him a superstar in italy. now this musician is out to make his mark. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around

the globe. just a few hours ago, a cease- fire to end the fighting between israeli military forces and hamas militants. it came after hours of diplomacy involving the u.n. secretary general and the secretary general -- and the u.s. secretary of state. from gaza, jeremy bowen reports. a warning, you might find some of these images distressing. >> because i came back to life after the cease-fire began. -- gaza came back to life after the cease-fire began. coming to another israeli bombing campaign felt like another victory. this was the hamas interior ministry. governing with or without a cease-fire will be harder with the main administrative center ron. in jerusalem tonight, is real

hint that more military action if the new cease-fire does not hold. >> i know there are citizens expecting a more severe military action, and perhaps we will need to do so but at this time, the right thing for the state of israel is to use this opportunity to achieve a lasting cease-fire. >> an attack on a bus in tel aviv was praised by hamas, but not claimed by them. both sides wanted this deal. all this, and rockets hit in the city from gaza and has dented a sense of security. a ceasefire will not necessarily bring israel could not have kept them from invading much longer. its allies did not want a ground

war and with elections they decided enough for now. >> this is a critical moment for the region. egypt posing new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country's " -- a cornerstone of regional stability and peace. >> the site of weapons supplied by the u.s. bombing arabs once again means that too much american craze is something that no leader in the american -- and no leader in the arab east wants right now. this morning as negotiations reached a critical stage, they were burying the night's dead.

egypt is struggling to recreate itself. >> there has been a lot of cross border violence. there is no reason to oppose a new one either. not unless there is a change. >> @ gaudette's main hospital there was no -- more support from the east. libyans in turkey helping hamas believe that history is on its side. >> eight days have helped the hands of the zionist to submit to history. >> many more palestinians and israelis have been killed and wounded. death and injuries feel the same on either side. making a cease-fire in a

conflict this bitter, which has claimed so many lives hard. >> just a brief time ago i spoke to jeremy and i asked him if the cease-fire was holding. >> gaza is going now to night. they are celebrating what they think is a victory. and whether this cease-fire holds longer term is another matter the terms of the deal on the face of it looks quite good for portside. they can take something away from it. hamas can say that israel has stopped destroying the gaza strip. israel can say that they have stopped bombing in israel. will israel allow much more free access to the gaza strip? allow any free access to the gaza strip? that is something they have been

reluctant to do, arguing it presents a severe security risk to them. if all of those things do not happen and rockets go into israel and people cannot come in and out of gaza, then the tensions will rise again and there will be -- and all of the efforts of the predecessors will evaporate. >> is it likely there will be peace talks? >> no, it is not likely at all. there is no plan -- no middle east peace process and has not been one for years. the fact that this old conflict in this region, this very changing region between the palestinians and israelis, which has been out of the headlines with all of the tumultuous changes going on in this region for the last couple of years, they are always getting sharper.

you can add to that as well the new middle east, full of promise, but also in stability and trouble. that could have an impact here, too. >> for more on the diplomatic efforts, a brief time ago i spoke with robin wright, a senior fellow at the institute of peace, who has just returned from the region. how hopeful are you get a cease- fire will hold? >> 64 years after this conference began, we all know that cease-fires are very vulnerable to collapse. but we all know that whether this particular cease-fire last or not, there is an interest on all parties to try to bring this to an end. there is a sense across the region that so many in government have pressing, internal problems and are not interested in the energy that is needed to invest in a confrontation between the arab world and the israelis. and the president of egypt has

played such a constructive role over questions about whether an islamic government could ever deal with israel and bring about an influence on hamas to see a peace process unfold. >> and looking at the details of the cease-fire agreement, it seems that there is an ass of concession. there will be talks on the border crossing (from gaza -- opening from gaza into israel prepare. there have been issues about the gaza plot 80, which has been causing issues with -- blockade, which has been causing issues with finding employment, etc. the big issue is whether you can take these early processes and develop them into a broader middle east peace process. >> do you think you can?

>> the irony is for holuba clinton. could she pick up where her husband left off at camp david 12 years ago? could she be the one to eventually move forward the world's longest conflict? >> do you think israel achieve what it wanted with this offensive? >> probably not as much as it would like to have. in terms of taking out certain facilities, military arms and so forth. but it did send a very strong message. and the fact that its iron dome work indicates that it has stronger defense capability then thought before. >> in terms of long-term security, how much has at the arab spring change the dynamics on that? >> that is an important issue,

and there is a kind of hysteria about whether any of these islamic government can move toward real peace with israel, and are they likely to help their islamic brethren? so far, the president of egypt has taken a very bold position. he did not call for jihad. he did not break off relations with israel. that set the tenor for what is likely to transpire next. >> robin wright speaking to me a little earlier. >> the president of the democratic republic of congo said he is ready to look into the grievances of the march 23 rebel group. they have taken control of the eastern city of goma. they are true -- they are providing military support to the end 23 rebels. the rebels have taken a second city and say they will march on the capital.

goma. the report from >> just days ago, these men were fighting in the bush. today, they are in a city of millions of habitants. -- inhabitants. they wait to hear what the future will hold in gomer under rebel control. the residents of the condo, the one that and you gotta continued to -- rwanda and uganda and continued to be concerned. this police captain told us he was not here willingly. he said he had no choice but to submit. the senior commander addresses the crowd. he promises order, security, and to improve people's lives. he also vowed to continue to

live -- continue the fighting all the way to the capital is necessary. >> do they want the rebels to stop and go more, or do they want them to carry on? there is encouragement from the crowd. yes, they say, carry-on. they feel they have all of the bargaining chips to get the congolese government to come to them to negotiate. >> if the rebels mean what they say, then this is a conflict in danger of spreading throughout the condo and possibly beyond. decressin out to a small village in the hills of catalonia, which is taking a stand and declaring itself submissive lee -- itself and submissive. they will stop paying taxes to the spanish government. the decision comes ahead of a

key regional election on sunday. >> in villages like this, most people will tell you that catalana, not spanish -- and you can spot the pro-independence catalon flag. he and others in this region say cathalon gets a rough deal, and that their taxes go to the central government, and they claim they get back a lot less to fund services like health and education. >> we do not think this is really a rebellion. we are still paying our taxes. the only difference is that instead of sending them to the spanish authorities, we are sending them to the cathalon treasury. >> the village will pay its taxes to the catalon government, even though it will, in turn,

have to forward them on to madrid. if people and other villages join us, we can reach a point where the pressure is high and off -- heidi enough to make the catalon government changed and not send it to the spanish treasury anymore. keeping that money, because in the end, it is ours. >> as the economic crisis has worsened here, the regional government has almost run out of money. that has galvanized support for the nationalist parties. they are campaigning have an important regional election this weekend. if they win, they say they want a referendum from -- on independence from spain. krul of the protest out in the countryside, these elections will be won or lost in the city. even here, nationalism is a

potent force. but a lot of catalon companies do a lot of their business elsewhere in spain. and many voices here were born in other parts of the country. even if there were a referendum, it is far from clear if the majority would vote in favor for independence from spain. bbc news in barcelona. >> you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, cutting the murder rate in el salvador. could it be true that life behind bars helps cast a dangerous time? the only surviving gunmen after the 2008 mumbai attack that killed 166 people has been hanged. a pakistani national, he was executed in prison after the indian president rejected a plea for mercy. >> one of the 10 gunmen who

unleashed mayhem on mumbai in 2008 and the only one to be captured alive was executed on wednesday morning after the president of india rejected his plea for mercy. a pakistani national, he had been sentenced to death by a court in mumbai on charges of waging war against india, and murder. india's prime -- foreign minister said that pakistan objected to the decision we attempted to communicate with the pakistan -- a objected to the decision. >> we attempted to communicate with the pakistan foreign office. and since those comments were not received by the foreign office, by fax we communicated with them. >> outside, people have been

celebrating an enchanting -- and chanting. execution, while legally in india, is rare. the last one was eight years ago. this man carried out one of the deadliest attack this country has seen. >> his body has been buried in the premises of this jail. the timing is significant, because it comes just days before the fourth anniversary of the november, 2008 deaths. >> last year, lasala or had the second-highest murder rate in the world. -- el salvador had the second highest murder rate in the world. earlier this year, a truce was broken between the two criminal

street gang groups prepar. that has caused the murder rate to drop significantly. linda presba has the report. >> these men all belong to the 18th street gang. they are one side in a vicious war. they were inside the el salvador jail when a truce was negotiated. if we are believe that part of the problem, we can be part of the solution, too. and we do not want our kids to die anymore. >> in communities affected by bloody street battles, now they are free to go about their business. >> there have been between 1400 fogh an 1900 fewer murders this year than last. it is incredible.

it is not just a truce, but part of a bigger strategy. the truce is not the solution to ending violence in the country, but without the truth, there is no solution the government policy of oppression has not changed -- there is no solution. >> the government policy of oppression has not changed, but they need a solution. >> it is the beginning of the story. we need to reduce the extortion levels as well. we need to reduce the robbery. we need to reduce the social violence among salvadorans that brings a lot of suffering to society and families. >> and some gang members are violating the truce. young people are still disappearing. cloudy i did not want to be identified. she said her son was killed and buried in a secret place because he was associated with an enemy.

>> these are some of the lasala door's most dangerous criminals. the truce between these -- these are some of the country's most dangerous criminals. the truce has been in place for more than eight months. -- thestion isn't question everybody is asking now is whether this is a truce that can hold. >> the gang believes it can and will. >> we are trying our best. we apologize for the innocent people that have died. and we are trying to make it work. >> outside the prison, a small section of the nation is holding its breath. >> now to an italian singer who is hoping to make his mark. he has sold more than 5 million

albums. he has more twitter of a worse than the pope. -- followers then the pope. we recently caught up with him in manhattan. >> in italy, and playing in football stadiums. here, nobody. i like that, too. ♪ living in new york is something i was trying to do once in my life. and now that it's what i'm doing. i like to tour in america. i feel like animal curator -- like an animal. like a giraffe in a place where giraffes to do not grow up. you see a lot of dogs and other

animals. and then you see a drive and you say, i know they exist in the world, but i never saw one. my father worked in vatican city. he was traveling sometimes. he came to america and he bought a separate camera and he shot some footage. it was in 1972. >> ♪ in new york i found rome, milan, paris ♪ ♪ i want to wake up in the city with frankie and his voice ♪ >> this town infected meat. the beastie boys were the life

changing experience for me. i listened to hip-hop and then i listened to the beastie boys and i said, i can do this. i want to do this. i started singing it in an italian parent -- in an italian. ♪ >> i think america is not anymore the most important economy, but it is the most important center of production. it is like being in florence during the renaissance. hear, history is happening out. -- history is happening here. all i'm doing is giving back to my people by being here. i like to think that they are waiting for me to come back from

this experience. ♪ >> introducing his music to a whole new audience in new york. and we could not leave you without the final story from washington. today, the president and his two daughters took part in the annual thanksgiving right of pardoning two turkeys. it is a tradition that stretches back to the 1960's. that brings the program to a close. you confide constant updates on our website. i'm laura trevelyan. thank you for watching. to those of you in the u.s., have a happy thanksgiving.

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- hi, neighbour! today it's my birthday, and we're going to have a birthday party! and then we're going to the park for a picnic! d you're coming too! and i'll be right back!

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